DRINKING WATER

GettyImages-2176083692 hurricane Building Resilient Water Treatment: How Ozone Systems Help Utilities Prepare for Extreme Weather

Ozone systems build resilience into water treatment. They ensure utilities remain chemically self-sufficient, allow fast recovery from power outages, and handle rapid water quality shifts.

DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS

  • Innovative Technologies For Nitrate Treatment

    Conventional nitrate treatment equipment tends to generate a waste-handling issue that can be a challenge to many utilities. The emergence of innovative technologies in drinking water treatment has led to more sustainable approaches for the reduction of nitrate.

  • Aclara RF Network System Stands Up To Hurricane Sandy

    When Hurricane Sandy struck in October of 2012, Aclara's RF network technology, which was installed across New York City's five boroughs, was under pressure to perform effectively. 

  • Conversion To On-Site Sodium Hypochlorite Generation Improves The Safety And Resilience Of Two Wastewater Reuse Plants With A Three-Year Economic Payback

    Aqua Engineers is a local Hawaiian company founded almost 40 years ago which delivers operations, engineering, and construction management to the water and wastewater industry throughout Hawaii. Also, as an owner and operator, Aqua Engineers is keenly focused on the return on investment for process equipment decisions, but also on the safety of its operators and surrounding community. Read the full case study to learn why Aqua Engineers chose the Microclor OSHG system provided by UGSI Solutions for both their sites in 2016.

  • Tapping Into A Smart Utility Network To Uphold Water Quality

    For municipal water systems, the endless demand to maintain water quality can be challenging. Anytime the quality or pressure drops far enough to necessitate a boil notice, the costs to inform residents and get the problem under control can be extensive. It can also create a public relations nightmare. Newer solutions provide a cost-effective way to build an entire smart utility network to more proactively manage water quality and generate greater ROI.

  • Why Static Metrology Is Important In A Modern Era

    As sustainability, climate change resilience, and the overall increasing cost of water increasing come into focus, the needs of water utilities and their customers have shifted.

  • Case Study: Chemplast Chooses Aquatech's HERO™ & ZLD The Chemplast Mettur plant uses the Cauvery River as their main fresh water source. A strong industrial growth in recent years has resulted in water scarcity in the region. Industries are also required to follow strict environmental norms for discharging effluents. The intent of a Waste Water Treatment Plant was to have complete treatment, recycle and reuse of the combined waste water streams to reduce intake from the Cauvery River while not discharging any liquid waste streams. By Aquatech International Corporation
  • Lakes Powell And Mead Don't Have To Dry Up

    First, it was Lake Mead, behind Hoover Dam. Now it's Lake Powell, upstream of Mead and behind Glen Canyon Dam. The water supplies supported by these feats of engineering are dwindling. There are many reasons, but it's not necessary.

  • PVDF Hollow-Fiber Ultrafiltration Membranes Selected For Plant Upgrade

    The City of Delaware, Ohio's Water Treatment Plant (WTP) started operating in 1889. Under the EPA's Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2), the WTP's feed water is classified as Bin 2, which requires a 4-log removal of Cryptosporidium. As a result, the City would convert its 6.0 MGD lime softening plant to a 7.2 MGD membrane treatment facility utilizing a 4.5 MGD ultrafiltration (UF) system to comply. A total of seven proposals were received during the bidding phase of the UF system, which was narrowed down to three based on best projected capital and operating costs and membrane performance. The three selections would be piloted for further evaluation. Read the full case study to learn more.

  • Greater Efficiency And Peace Of Mind With The KETOS SHIELD

    In this case study, explore how a municipality automated its water quality testing to ensure compliance in real time. 

  • Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority Uses Powdered Activated Carbon To Ensure High Quality Drinking Water

    Founded in 1982, Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority supplies drinking water to a region of approximately one million people living south of Tampa Bay in DeSoto, Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Its surface water treatment plant draws water from the Peace River to a reservoir and treats it to drinking water standards at the rate of about 31 million gallons a day.

DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES

  • Irrigation Technology In Agriculture: How New Technologies Overcome Challenges
    1/29/2019

    As the world’s population continues to increase at a fast pace, more food and water will be needed to sustain humanity. In the past 50 years, we have tripled our need for water and food, and there are no signs of this trend slowing down. As a result of these conditions, smart, innovative agricultural practices are needed now more than ever. Technology can, and already does, aid agriculture in innumerable ways. One prominent part of agriculture that can use technological innovation to increase efficiency and effectiveness is irrigation.

  • The Basics: Keeping Our Water Clean Requires Monitoring
    4/30/2014

    Keeping the water in our lakes, rivers, and streams clean requires monitoring of water quality at many points as it gradually makes its way from its source to our oceans. Over the years ever increasing environmental concerns and regulations have heightened the need for increased diligence and tighter restrictions on wastewater quality.

  • Secret To Disinfection Monitoring For High Chlorine Residual Wastewater Applications
    8/2/2015

    Some wastewater applications require chlorine residuals greater than can be effectively monitored using DPD due to the oxidation of the Wurster dye to a colorless Imine. Such applications include industrial wastewater processes that inherently have a high chlorine demand thereby requiring a more robust monitoring method.

  • Panametrics Technology Helps Track Potable Water Leaks
    4/22/2022

    Concerned about the volume of water leakages throughout their network, a Swedish water authority turned to Panametrics flowmeters to map their municipal water network -- enabling quick leak identification and fixes.

  • How To Read An Encoder
    9/13/2013

    The HR-E LCD encoder has a 9-digit Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) to show consumption, flow and alarm information. The display automatically toggles between 9-digit and 6-digit consumption, rate of flow and meter model.

  • Water Treatment In Boilers And Cooling Towers
    10/29/2021

     Most people recognize problems associated with corrosion. Effects from scale deposits, however, are equally important. For example, as little as 1/8" of scale can reduce the efficiency of a boiler by 18% or a cooling tower heat exchanger by 40%!

  • Ultrasonic Level Measurement In Water And Wastewater Plants
    5/19/2016

    Radar technology is often viewed as the “best” method of level measurement, but this isn’t necessarily true in the water industry.

  • Pikeville, Kentucky Medical Center Leak Found Despite Ambient Noise
    6/23/2021

    Leaks found in 60 psi high density PE pipe by FELL in less than three hours. Acoustic and CCTV failed to find any leaks after more than a year of investigation. Read the full case study to learn more. 

  • LC-MS Analysis Of PFAS Compounds In EPA 533 After Supelclean™ ENVI-WAX SPE Cleanup
    8/29/2022

    This application note demonstrates the extraction and subsequent analysis of 25 related analytes from water using Supelco SPE cartridges.

  • Waste Technologies Transform Problems To Profit
    9/8/2015

    Anaerobic digestion processes that radically improve the quality of wastewater while delivering green energy extracted from biological waste streams are emerging as a profitable way for agricultural and food processing industries cope with the twin impact of drought and pollution challenges.

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

Utilizing advanced ultrasonic flow measurement, the Sonata Ultrasonic Meter greatly improves low flow measurement compared to residential mechanical meters, making it an ideal solution for addressing Non-Revenue Water (NRW).

High precision, non-contact nephelometer, approved alternative method to US EPA 180.1, for the continuous measurement of turbidity in potable water.

The flowI® 2100 & 3101 series Encoded Meter is a smart water meter based on the latest ultrasonic technology. The meter has no moving parts and maintains its accuracy throughout its entire lifetime of 20 years.

The modular design of the ProcessMaster FEP500 enhanced version offers the industry's widest range of liners electrodes and sizes to meet the needs of even the most demanding process applications in sectors as diverse as chemical, power, oil & gas, pulp & paper and metals & mining.

The  CHEM-FEED® Wall Mount Duplex Skid System is designed to be mounted on a wall freeing up valuable floor space. Available in a simplex and duplex chemical feed pump configurations. Pipe material options include PVC, CPVC, PVDF, and Chem Proline® (PE).

The OPTIFLUX 6300 is an electromagnetic flowmeter (EMF) for advanced hygienic applications in the food sector. The high-end flowmeter is particularly suitable for blending, dosing or filling applications where a high accuracy (±0.2% of measured value) is priority and extensive diagnostics are required. In addition, it can even be used for low conductivity liquids of ≥ 1 μS/cm (e.g. glucose, fruit concentrates). The 3A and EHEDG certified flowmeter comes with industry specific installation lengths. It has no crevices, gaps or blind spots and is specifically designed to stay clean and sterile. This way, it complies with the most stringent demands in the food and beverage industry.

LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER

  • Amazon and Xylem partner to tackle Mexico’s leaking water systems as the country balances water scarcity and a growing tech sector.

  • Water scarcity is increasingly impacting sectors from agriculture and energy to urban planning and high-tech manufacturing. Recently, industry leaders gathered to explore how new technologies and complex industrial demands are forcing a fundamental rethinking of water infrastructure.

  • Nobel-winning molecular materials are poised to reinvent purification, desalination, and reuse.

  • Researchers have developed polyimide-based membranes for membrane distillation (MD) that overcome three persistent issues in membranes for water treatment and gas separations: the need for pore-forming chemicals that prevent recycling, performance degradation due to pore wetting and fouling, and the inherent trade-off between high water flux and selectivity.

  • Small municipalities and industrial sites face constant pressure: deliver safe, stable water with limited resources and tight deadlines. Traditional on-site construction can stretch project schedules by months and introduce quality and cost risks. By shifting much of the fabrication off-site, these risks are dramatically reduced.

  • The 2024 hurricane season was one of the most severe on record, creating unprecedented destruction to the tune of $182.7 billion worth of damage. Scientists predict that this year's storm season, which officially began June 1, will likely be highly active and volatile as well. As hurricanes become more difficult to accurately predict and prepare for, the damage caused by burst pipes, flooding, downed trees and debris, and disrupted utilities is also increasing.

DRINKING WATER VIDEOS

A group of Congressional Democratic lawmakers from Michigan has proposed legislation to provide $600 million in financial assistance to help Flint deal with its current water crisis.

In this episode of Ozone Talks, host Sannel Patel takes viewers deep inside Pinnacle Ozone Solutions’ cutting-edge ozone generation technology. Joined by senior engineer Eric Francis and technician Dayton Julius, the discussion centers around the Quad Block ozone cell—a patented, modular system redefining ozone production through innovation, precision, and durability.

EXO, a state-of-the art water quality monitoring platform, is designed to address the many challenges of collecting accurate field data in the natural environment.

Across North America, streams and rivers are becoming saltier, thanks to road deicers, fertilizers and other salty compounds that humans indirectly release into waterways. At the same time, freshwater supplies are becoming more alkaline.

How much water does it take to make a hamburger? How about to manufacture a car? Having experienced growing up with limited resources living in a refugee camp in India, Anil Ahuja is leading a movement to design sustainable cities and systems that protect the earth and the people who live on it.

ABOUT DRINKING WATER

In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:

  1. Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
  2. Drinking water treatment of source water
  3. Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers

Drinking Water Sources

Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater. 

Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.

Drinking Water Treatment

Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.

There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.

The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.

The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.

During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.

Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.

Drinking Water Distribution

Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.

A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.

Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.